A new IDF draft bill agreement emerged from a meeting late Sunday between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UTJ Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, which was then approved by the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Agudas Yisroel.

The Moetzes of Agudas Yisroel forms the Rabbinical oversight committee for the three Agudas Yisroel Knesset members and instructs them on how to vote in the Knesset. Netanyahu held emergency meetings with Litzman in the hopes of reaching some kind of agreement that will prevent early elections.

The bill will be placed on the Ministerial Legislation Committee’s docket for 9am Monday–and then sent to a preliminary Knesset reading, without Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s party members having to vote for it.

The bill is based on a framework put forward by Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur, which states that a goal will be set of 3,800 Charedi recruits joining the IDF and national service with each recruitment cycle—with their number gradually increasing.

In addition, the law will omit any sanctions or incentives, instead including an article starting that the government will inspect general draft quotas every five years and if it finds Charedi conscripts failed to meet them, the law will expire.

Another problem that remains to be tackled is Defense Minister Lieberman’s statements that members of his party will vote against the bill.

Talks between Netanyahu and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman are expected to be key to resolving the dispute.

Should Lieberman make good on this threat and vote against it himself, he will be summarily fired.

Members of Netanyahu’s government have been quarreling over whether to extend military draft exemptions afforded to Yeshiva Bochrim. Chareidi MK’s say they will not vote for the 2019 budget without the draft exemptions, while Avigdor Lieberman has vowed to bolt the coalition if the budget isn’t passed soon.

10 COMMENTS

Only a preliminary vote is being taken which means nothing. It’s only the later readings that mean anything and nothing is a sure thing at that point.
The Chareidim surrendered to Netanyahu’s threat to go to elections.
Netanyahu has been throwing tons of money at the chareidim in order to keep his coalition whole. New elections can mean a complete halt to this large flow of money. Too much money on the table to risk.

Bottom line is that to keep the money coming, the chareidim are willing to risk having their sons drafted.

Because it guarantees money and influence for another five years and at the end the ability for more blackmail if the target is not met and the law is due to expire. Litzman and Gafni are really superb strategists and Porush smiles brightly.

==takahmamash They agreed because they know that chareidim with a sense of responsibility towards their bretheren will enlist, agreement or not.=

can you stop with this childish moralizing
the military doesn’t need the charedim and the military is a traife environment,
this isn’t about supporting the whatever, it’s about religious survival
there hasn’t been a war in 50 years, we don’t need everyone in the military